


For What It's Worth

by LytynUponCerellia



Series: Arta and Merlin (Genderbent Universe) [3]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Genderbending, Happy Ending, Post-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-13 05:33:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9108658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LytynUponCerellia/pseuds/LytynUponCerellia
Summary: Arta Pendragon is recovering from breaking up with her boyfriend Gwil. When her half-brother Morgaine convinces her to go on a 'blind date' with him, she reluctantly agrees. As it turns out, meeting Merlin on that date could have been the best thing to have happened to her.





	

**Author's Note:**

> More Merlin genderbending! Everyone is completely genderbent, just so you know.  
> Arta=Arthur  
> Morgaine=Morgana  
> Gwil=Gwen  
> Lancela=Lancelot  
> Uthern=Uther  
> Leona=Leon  
> Merlin=Merlin  
> -M

Sometimes Arta really hated her brother.

OK, he was her _half_ -brother, but it still didn’t change the fact that sometimes she really, truly, despised his existence from the ends of the earth to Hell beyond.

Take that night, for example. Arta didn’t want to go out. She had been perfectly content with staying in, thank you very much, and no, she had not wanted to go on this stupid so-called ‘blind double date’ along with her demonic half-brother.

But damn it all.

Morgaine was a smooth talker, and it hadn’t been long before he had somehow managed to coerce her into getting changed into a dark red dress with matching heeled boots and walking down to the restaurant with him. The convincing point may or may not have involved blackmail involving too many drinks without the luxury of having sympathetic friends or siblings who absolutely did not want to take their phones out to record extremely embarrassing personal moments.

Her demon half-brother himself was wearing a trim form-fitting dark suit, and was positively all smirks and sinister pale green eyes in his alabaster face, as well as unruly wavy dark hair she had seen girls physically swoon over.

She was (sadly) not even kidding about the last part.

It was always quite a mess when explaining it to the nice yet exasperated people working in the ER at Royal Court Hospital. She was fairly certain that the elderly head physician, Dr. Gaia Wilson, was starting to secretly loathe them for it.

“Here we are,” Morgaine said cheerfully, gesturing to the door before the restaurant. It was tucked in a corner down a long alleyway crowded with many other shops, which only made Arta feel the slightest bit better. At least the chances of either of them getting robbed in such a busy place was possibly just the least bit less likely.

The luminescent sign was styled in fancy, curled script. “‘ _Dans Le Noir_ ’?” She squinted.

“Rather fitting, don’t you think?” Morgaine commented carelessly.

Arta scowled, crossing her arms. “Like your black heart.”

“Why, sister dear!” Morgaine put a hand over his heart and pretended to be hurt by her words, although his eyes still shone with amusement. “I only have your best interests at heart.”

“Damn right you do.” Arta said sarcastically, and glared down at the sidewalk. “I _don’t_ want to be here.”

There was a pause as her brother took this in. “I know.” He said, and his voice for the first time that night was abruptly gentle.

She clutched her purse tighter to herself, refusing to meet his eyes.

“Look, Arta. I know it’s been difficult ever since Gwil--”

She snapped her head up immediately. “‘Since Gwil’ _what_ , exactly?”

Morgaine looked regretful, his eyes suddenly sad. “I’m sorry he left you, is what I meant.”

“Yeah, right.” She scuffled one foot at the ground, old anger resurfacing. Anger mixed with sadness. “It’s fine.” She looked back up, trying to sound casual again.

“He’s happy with Lana. That’s all I could hope for him.”

“It still hurts, though, doesn’t it?” Morgaine really did sound sympathetic, although she did know him for being a master liar in his spare time alongside planning world domination.

“I don’t want to talk about this right now.” She snapped. “Could you-- _please_ \--drop it?”

The wound still felt fresh.

Morgaine hesitated for a moment, green eyes roaming over her stubborn face, before nodding slowly. “Fine.”

She let out a tense sigh, unclenching her fists. “Thank you.”

“Arta.”

She was reluctant, but she looked at his face. She hadn’t seen him this earnest in a while.

“I confess...I’m worried about you.”

At seeing the disbelief that was probably spreading across her face, he took her hand. “Look, I know we’re constantly at each other’s throats, but I really just...want to look out for you. Truly.”

She sighed. “I know.” And she really did mean it.

“You haven’t been getting out enough lately. I know it hurts, but it’s been a good time since, well...since what happened. But these _are_ your twenties.” And here he put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle shake. “These are the times to get out and about, meet people. Even...that potential significant other.”

“Who knew you were so keen on matchmaking advice?” Arta couldn’t resist teasing.

He rolled his eyes at that. “I’m not. Usually. But for you, I’ll make the sole exception, since you’re usually too oblivious anyways.”

“Oi! Says the man who has girls fainting all over the place at the sign of his bloody _face_!”

“It is, I’ve been told, _irresistible_.” He said with a sly leer.

“Oh, my God.” Arta shook her head, but she couldn’t help laughing out loud.

Morgaine smiled, and it wasn’t his usual sinful look. “There now. Can you just promise me--” And he squeezed her hand. “Please, that you’ll try your best to have a little fun?”

Arta sighed, looking up to the sky as if asking the heavens for their judgement.

“Alright.”

“That’s more like it,” He grinned, and gave her hand one last squeeze before opening the door for them. “After you.”

* * *

 

The restaurant lobby was bright enough, but they were actually going to be eating in total darkness. They were greeted by a man wearing dark glasses, who instructed them to place their hands on his shoulder before leading them behind a velvet curtain.

It really was dark, and Arta couldn’t see a damn thing. She sincerely hoped that no one was going to try and rob her while she was sightless, and instinctively tightened her grip on her bag. The waiter sat them down at their request, beside two young ladies (or so he told them).

Arta had noted his hesitation when Morgaine had explicitly stated that dining with two young women would be fine for the both of them, and she inwardly sighed.

It hadn’t been easy for Arta to have come out as bisexual, especially not to their strict mother Uthern, who she had always feared found homosexuality or any other sexuality besides heterosexuality as something to be avoided at all costs.

To her surprise, Uthern had merely tilted her head and rolled up her newspaper with barely anything more than a slight sigh. “I had my suspicions.”

“You...you did?”

“I am older, Arta. Not blind.” She raised a pencil-thin eyebrow at her. Arta was embarrassed by this acknowledgement. So the lingering glances at other women while growing up had not completely escaped her mother’s iron gaze after all...

“Oh,” Arta had said, stunned by the new information. “So--”

“So do what you will.” Uthern had said casually. Arta felt a huge swell of relief wash over her. “But--” She held up a polished fingernail before Arta could leave.

“-- _But..._ I want grandchildren, one way or another.”

The simple admission left Arta blushing and protesting most embarrassingly while at a loss for words, and her mother had left the room, a knowing smirk on her face.

At least she felt free now to admit she was bisexual to whomever. She probably would have been able to do so otherwise, but with Uthern’s blessing(?), it just gave her even more confidence with that fact.

She sat down beside Morgaine, across from whomever they were supposed to be having dinner with. It was very difficult to eat in the dark, and she sincerely hoped she didn’t end up dropping food all over herself by the end of the evening.

Morgaine had already started chatting with the lady across from him at their table. She recognized his ‘flirting’ tone already before he even started using it. “How are you tonight?”

“I’m very well, thanks. And you?” The woman he was speaking with had a straightforward tone, yet polite.

“Oh, very well too, thanks for asking.” He lowered his tone, and Arta resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The person across from her hadn’t spoken yet. Perhaps they were shy.

“My name is Leona.” Morgaine’s ‘date’ informed him.

“I’m Morgaine. So, Leona, how are you finding…”

They continued their conversation, and Arta felt someone bump her arm.

“Oh! Sorry.” Said a soft voice across from her. “I was reaching for my glass.”

“That’s quite alright,” Arta said, and immediately cringed at her formality. “Er. I mean, it’s fine.”

The person across from her giggled quietly, as if Arta had said something rather amusing. “Is this your first time doing something...like this?”

Their voice was soft, and sounded inviting to Arta’s ears. The accent wasn’t quite as posh, rather lower, yet...enticing.

“First time on a blind date, yes.” She answered truthfully.

“Mine too,” said the person across from her. “I admit, I was pretty nervous when Leona and I were waiting, but you seem nice enough so far. What’s your name?”

“Arta.” Arta answered. “And yours?”

“I’m Merlin.” The woman replied, a hint of shyness entering her voice.

“That’s a lovely name.” Arta said earnestly, and she could have sworn the other woman blushed before replying. “Thank you. Arta is a lovely name too.”

“My mother thought it was easy to remember,” Arta joked.

Merlin laughed. It was a joyful, surprisingly deep, infectious sound, and Arta couldn’t help but join in with a chuckle or two herself.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Merlin.”

“And you, Arta.” She hoped she wasn’t imagining the brief, light touch of Merlin’s hand on her own. “The pleasure is all mine.”

* * *

About half an hour later, Arta found that she was actually enjoying herself much more than she should have been. Merlin was shy at first, but she was also witty, with a shockingly dark dramatic sense of humor and had a comeback for every single one of Arta’s remarks.

She had also found out that Merlin wasn’t a native to the city, but had actually moved from one of the outlying towns in the country. “Yeah, Ealdor is a small place, but it’s...nice.”

“Did you live on a farm?”

“Yeah, and it was a lot of work. Dad and I, we were always working on chores. Sometimes my friend Willa from next door would help out. Or you know, mess around until after midnight.” She snorted, as if reliving a particularly humorous memory.

“My friends and I would dare each other to hop over the garden wall back at our house.” Arta confided. “I got a broken ankle.”

“Oh, no!” Merlin sounded genuinely concerned for her younger self. “How did it happen?”

“I saw my mum watching us through the window and freaked out. My friend accidentally pulled me over when I screamed.”

Merlin burst into laughter at that, and Arta joined in. She could still see Lana’s shocked face at her shriek of surprise. Wait.

 _Lana..._ she stopped laughing at once.

About an hour and a half later, they found they shared a love for 80’s classic movies, and Italian food, and got into the age-old long rant over which was better: dogs or cats.

“Dogs,” said Arta. “Dogs are the best, hands-down.”

“Dogs leave messes everywhere,” Merlin said exasperatedly. “And they’re not fun to clean up, believe me.”

“Cats are boring though. They just curl up and stare at you.” Arta shuddered at a memory of the time Morgaine brought home a stray. She hadn’t been able to tell at the time who she’d been more creeped out by--Morgaine’s seemingly unnecessary obsession with serving the kitten, or the kitten watching her every minute of the day with huge luminous yellow eyes.

“No, they’re sweet, really. They just want attention sometimes.”

“As do dogs.”

“Well, they’re just begging for it, aren’t they?”

“ _Mer_ lin,” Arta drawled. “The King _himself_ has got dogs.”

“Yeah, and I suppose you two are related, what with your posh accents and fancy ideas. You’ll be having us building temples to them next--”

But rather than be offended, Arta just got set off again, and soon Merlin cracked up again as well.

Arta couldn’t remember the last time she had had so much fun. Certainly not after Gwil had left, that was for sure. Merlin was just...great.

* * *

 Another hour later, and Merlin noted, “Your friend Morgaine is very enthusiastic,” as Morgaine sent Leona laughing at yet another sly comment.

“He’s my brother,” Arta corrected. “And I actually hate him.”

Merlin laughed, sounding unsure whether Arta was actually kidding or not.

“Really?”

“No.” Arta admitted. “But he does know how to get under my skin like you wouldn’t believe. So what’s Leona like?”

“To be honest, I don’t know her that well.” Merlin admitted quietly. “She’s mates with my friend Lana.”

The name sent Arta into temporary shock. “Lana?”

“Yeah, it’s short for Lancela. Do you know her?”

Arta froze. Of _all_ the people in the world, and of course she had to end up with the one who was best friends with Lancela Dulac.

Of _course_.

She briefly heard Merlin continuing on about how Lancela had just settled down with a nice young man, Gwil, was that his name? And how they were really lovely together.

Just so...lovely.

Happier than Arta could ever have been with him.

“Arta?” Now Merlin sounded concerned. “Is everything OK?”

Arta swallowed hard. The last time she had seen Lana, they had been on good enough terms, but still. Watching Gwil walk off with her hand in hand was still so painful to think about, the two of them looking so damn happy together--

“Arta?” Merlin asked again, starting to sound a little apprehensive. “I didn’t say something wrong, did I? I’m rubbish at first dates, I have to admit. But I thought we were really starting to, you know, get along, and maybe we could talk some more if you--”

“I’m _fine_.” Arta cut off Merlin’s babbling. “I...I just...I need to go.”

“Oh,” said Merlin, and Arta instantly hated herself for making someone who seemed so genuinely open and sweet upset.

“Was it something I did--”

“No.” Arta interrupted. “I just...I can’t stay here.”

Morgaine wouldn’t notice her absence. He was too busy getting to know Leona. She got up, and dropped a few pounds as a tip to the waiters before rushing out the room, miraculously meeting to no obstacles along her way.

* * *

 She pushed open the door, and into the night air. It was slightly chilly, but she barely noticed. She shut her eyes, trying to block out that image of Gwil leaving all over again. “ _I’m sorry, Arta. But I think you and I both knew going in that it wasn’t going to work out_.”

His dark eyes spoke nothing but the truth.

She rubbed her arms, and heaved a few deep breaths. She would _not_ cry.

“ _I’m in love with Lancela. I can’t help it. I wish I could. But I...I can’t deny my feelings any longer. Goodbye, Arta._ ”

“Goodbye,” She whispered to herself, into the brisk wind. She rubbed a tear from her cheek and turned on her heel, ready to walk away.

“Arta! Wait!” Came a familiar voice. She stopped, and turned back around to face the entrance.

The voice belonged to a young woman, who quite literally took Arta’s breath away. It wasn’t that she was exquisitely beautiful or gorgeous, or anything like that. But she was just...there was just something about her that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

She had thick dark hair, slightly wavy. She was rather pale, and was wearing a modest blue dress with a swishy skirt. She wore a brown jacket which ended at her ribcage, and a deep red scarf, and brown buckled boots. Her dark blue eyes shone in the streetlight, and her face...God, she had the most _incredible_ cheekbones and facial structure Arta had seen yet.

She seemed to have noticed Arta’s staring, and immediately looked down shyly, nudging one boot against the other. “Um. Hi.”

“Merlin?” Arta guessed aloud.

“Yeah.” Merlin looked back up, and her shy smile was enough to send Arta’s heart beating rapidly quick. “And, wow. I wasn’t expecting you to be half as beautiful.” She blurted, then ducked her head again as Arta stared.

“Uh, sorry! I didn’t mean to come off as creepy, or weird, it’s like I said, I’m no good with first dates, and I never really get the chance to ever, you know, have fun and all like we did back there, but then you ran off, and I thought, oh, that’s really not a good sign, and so I came after you, and here we are.”

Arta shook her head, trying to make sense of Merlin’s long rambling. “It’s perfectly fine, _Mer_ lin.” She said teasingly. “And you’re not rubbish on first dates, at least, not from what I’ve heard tonight.”

Merlin flushed again, her eyes widening. “Oh! Thank you.”

Arta smiled sadly. If they had more time, maybe--

“Good night.”

She began to walk away.

“Why did you run off?”

The question made her stop in her tracks. She turned back slowly.

“I mean, I really want to know if anything I said or did was that rude--”

“No.” Arta said. “It wasn’t you at all, Merlin. It was me.” She closed her eyes. “Look, I probably should have told you earlier, but I got broken up with my boyfriend fairly recently, and I guess it still hurts.”

“What was his name?” Merlin’s voice was unexpectedly soft, gentle.

“Gwil.”

“Oh. You mean, Lana’s--?”

“Exactly.” Arta chuckled, only slightly bitter-sounding. “And when you mentioned her name, and how you were friends, I guess I just sort of...freaked out again. But they’re happy, and that’s all there is to it. I apologize if I hurt your feelings.”

“I’m sorry.”

The quiet apology stunned her. The look on Merlin’s face. It was just so earnest, so true. So honest. She really did feel bad for Arta, like she understood exactly what she was going through.

“I know I can’t understand as well as I’d like to, but I am sorry. That he broke things off.”

“Thank you.” Arta whispered. She rubbed at her cheek, and turned to leave.

“And for what it’s worth, I think he made a mistake.”

Arta stopped for what had to be the third time that night at least. She turned back around. Merlin, who seemed so gentle and kind, had her fists clenched by her sides, her head lowered. “I think he screwed up, breaking off something with someone as good as you.”

Arta was surprised once again. “Merlin--”

“I’m happy for them. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be, but still. Someone as good as you deserves better.”

Arta felt her heart slow in her chest, light and tranquil. She stepped closer to Merlin, until they were nearly face-to-face.

“You really think so?”

“I do,” said Merlin. Then, in a sudden rush of doubt, she corrected, “Er. I mean. You just seem like someone really incredible, I have to admit. And I’m just...well, I’m just someone who wants to understand, but I really don’t, so you don’t have to even listen to what I said if it sounded completely horrible--”

She was cut off by Arta pressing her lips to hers. Merlin’s lips were so soft, and Arta sighed into the kiss as Merlin responded in kind, deepening it.

When they finally broke apart, Arta rested her forehead on hers. “You know, I think you’re pretty amazing too, Merlin.”

“Really?” Merlin sounded so surprised, Arta had to laugh out loud. “Of course.” She pressed a light kiss to her forehead before taking her by the hand.

“Now, come on.”

“Where are we going?” Merlin stumbled along, still startled by the kiss.

Arta turned back, eyes sparkling, grinning. “Home, of course.”

Somehow, she didn’t think Morgaine would mind she had ditched him at the restaurant a little earlier than planned.

And when her half-brother found them tangled in bed the next morning, he made sure to take a picture to commemorate the moment on his phone before sneaking out of the bedroom with one lingering smug cackle.

But Arta didn’t mind.

As far as she was concerned, it had all been worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it! Please leave comments and reviews below!  
> -M


End file.
